With a resounding bang, Cy rolled head over tail into the dead tree. Electric energy coursed along his path before lashing a new scar into the dead wood. He got to his feet with a wobble.
"Did I gets the socket powered the dish washer?" He asked something unseen to my right.
"Yeah, we're taking a break." Conner wrapped his tail around one of Cy's legs, guiding him to the water trough we had Lulu make for us.
Cy's ears fell when the trough came into focus. "Don't put the toaster in the tub." He whined. As Conner let go of him, Vince rammed Cy's rear, forcing him into the trough face first. Sparks jumped from the yellow canine, and off the water, before grounding in the earth around him.
"Ya know," I sighed from my branch, "I suspect he'll learn Bolt Strike before Volt Tackle." I hopped down and made my way over to the tree. I briefly inspected the scorch marks. "Well, the good news is that you've finally managed to get the electricity out. Now you just need to focus on not falling over."
Once the sparks stopped flying, Conner placed his healing paws on Cy's side. "I can't believe you still want to learn that move."
"I'm nothing if not stubborn." Cy nodded. "Thanks for staying to patch me up, Nurse."
Conner blushed. "Y-you heard about..." He coughed into a paw. "W-well, I gotta make sure someone patches you up. I guess I gotta get used to doing so after each fight we get into, if you're going to insist on using that move."
"Oh?" Vince asked.
"I was talking to Abes about this the other night. Guess what Mr. Myrddin told me." Conner smacked Cy over the head. "Volt Tackle does a third of the damage dealt back onto you! Try to avoid using it more than once a battle, please."
"That's assuming you can get it to work." Vince added.
At that moment, Rainbow buzzed us, mangled gibberish echoing in her wake. She angled herself back to town. "Thank's for the heads up!" I called after her retreating figure. I looked over at the others. "You guys catch that?"
"She said words?" Cy blinked. "I just heard a whoosh."
"Must be a me thing, then." I shrugged. "She said that we're staying with Spike and Moon Dancer while everyone's out of town."
"Oh?" Vince tilted his head. "This is the first I've heard of a group trip. Where're they going?"
"Oh, you know." I smiled at him, walking past Cy to the starting line. "Out gathering Apples, picking cherries, chasing wagons, ditching Pinkie and Rarity in Dodge. Y'know, a quick trip out."
"Huh." He and Conner walked back to their places as Cy joined me. "Wait, what was that last one?"
"Chasing wagons?" I turned to the Jolteon. "Ready to go again?"
He nodded, and we both blurred forward once more.
That night, we all lay in a pile at the foot of Moon Dancer's bed. The poor mare had to pull her hooves up so that our combined weight didn't cause her any harm.
I had just jolted awake. Wide eyed, I stared up at the ceiling as the breeze blew in from the open window, cooling the sweat trapped in my fur. Somehow, I had managed to worm my way to the top of the pile in my sleep.
"You awake?" I jumped, rolling down the pile, coming face to face with Abes. "You looked like you were having a nightmare. Claw dream again?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Nasty one this time." I looked Abes in his red eyes. "They've been getting worse."
The Umbreon's eyes flicked to the pile behind me before his rings began to glow. Gently, Lulu and Villhiem were pulled from the pile. Pointing to the door with his tail, Abes lead me from the room. Once we had made it into a side room downstairs, Abes gave the two evolved forms a rough shake.
"GAH! We're awake, we're awake!"
"Put us DOWN!"
Abes lightly placed them back on the ground, though his eyes didn't stop glowing. A cup floated in from the kitchen and landed in front of Villhiem.
"Yer gettin' real good with yer telekinesis." He murmured as he tore a chunk from his tail.
Lulu focused on her paw. "What's the occasion?"
"Leo." Abes picked me up and placed me beside the tea cup. "Claw dream again."
"Those really mess you up, don't they." Lulu smiled sadly at me.
"Yeah." I stared at the floor. "This one was the worst one yet..."
The full cup slid into view. "Whenever you're ready, darling."
I sat there, gathering my thoughts, sipping as I went. "After I left the Angry Monkey, I found myself in a desolate wasteland. One where storms of fire raged against tornadoes of water, where roots of gnarled trees rip the ground asunder as lightning lanced down from a total eclipse. I saw statues of you standing in a circle, each frozen in a pose of agony. Chains stretched from your heads to a statue of myself. God, my statue. I wasn't frozen in pain. No, my face....
"Oh god, my face! I was forever laughing. That damn, demented smile will forever haunt my memories. But it gets worse." I paused to wet my throat. "I heard the Claw's laughter as I drove it through each of you! Once I was done, I could see each of your flesh and bone bodies lying bloody in piles of dust. I turned to my own statue, and I...
"... I laughed the Claw's laugh! I laughed at my statue as it wept blood. I laughed as I drove the Claw -My Claw!- into my own statue's chest! I laughed as the sky burned and the moon wept leaves of electric blue. I laughed as a wave of crimson water carried me into the only standing forest. I laughed as I dropped through the wave in front of the Chained Monkey's cave. I was still laughing as I drove the claw through myself a second time. I was even laughing as the Claw burst from my own chest, spraying blood onto the dying me my own Claw was in.
"And then I woke up." I looked up from my empty cup, tears shining in my eyes. "These dreams keep getting worse. Are you sure Luna can't find my dreams?"
"She's looking as hard as she can." Abes held a paw out to me.
"SHE SHOULD LOOK HARDER!!" The cup sailed over the Umbreon's head, smashing against the far wall. Silence reigned as I shifted my Glare from Abes to stare in horror at my outstretched paw. I stared to shiver as I curled up into a ball. I looked up at the evolved forms, the tears falling as I made my plea.
"Please, help me."